Collapsible tube squeezing device

ABSTRACT

A collapsible tube squeezing device includes a housing having two lateral walls each having an upwardly directed slot. A first gear roller is rotatably mounted about a fixed axis between the two lateral walls. A second gear roller substantially parallel to the first roller has end portions pivotally arranged in the slot and is movable transversely to the direction of its axis in the slot between a tube squeezing working position for squeezing a tube inserted between the rollers and a tube releasing position in which it is spaced fromthe first roller. The slots are provided with gear teeth on one edge of the upper portion of each slot which mesh with the gear teeth of the second roller when the latter is turned in one direction to eject the tube, bringing it to its spaced position. The second roller moves to its working position, in which it is disengaged from said slot gear teeth, when the second roller is turned in the opposite direction to squeeze the tube.

[111 3,822,033 1 July 2,1974

[ COLLAPSIBLE TUBE SQUEEZING DEVICE [76] Inventor: Heribert Hopi, Beuscher Weg 1,

717 Schwab. Hall, Germany [22] Filed: Aug. 2, 1972 {21] App]. No: 277,378

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Primary Examiner-Stanley H. Tollberg Assistant ExaminerJoseph J. Rolla Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Michael S. Striker [57] A collapsible tube squeezing device includes a housing having two lateral walls each having an upwardly directed slot. A first gear roller is rotatably mounted about a ti ged aids between the two lateral walls. A second gear roller substantially parallel to the first roller has end portions pivotally arranged in the slot and is movable transversely to the direction of its axis in the slot between a tube: squeezing working position for squeezing a tube inserted between the rollers and a tube releasing position in which it is spaced from the first roller. The slots are provided with gear teeth on one edge of the upper portion of each slot which mesh with the gear teeth of the second roller when the latter is turned in one direction to eject the tube, bringing it to its spaced position. The second roller moves to its working position, in which it is disengaged from said slot gear teeth, when the second roller is turned in the opposite direction to s ssziqthe ube;

35 .Qlaims..tQsaninsEisms 1 COLLAPSIBLE TUBE SQUEEZING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION of the known devices has a hand wheel which is connected to an extension of one of the rollers whereby one of the rollers can be manually rotatedabout its axis the intermeshed relationship of the two rollers simultaneously causing the other roller to rotate. According to one known apparatus of this type, one of the rollers is arranged with its axis in slots which are formed in a U-shaped housing. The roller is movable in the slots between a squeezing or working position to a release or spaced position. After the apparatus has been mounted on a wall, the roller which is movable in the slots is fixed in position relative to the fixed roller by use of a positioning or set screw. These adjustable means are utilized to set the gap between the two rollers to accommodate tubes having a different wall thickness. Also with this apparatus, the transversely movable roller can be released from the adjusting means to permit the roller to be moved to its spaced position from the fixed roller to thereby permit the insertion of a new tube or the withdrawal of a squeezed out or empty tube. However, the construction of the hitherto described device is relatively complex and accordingly is expensive to manufacture. Additionally, in order to remove a partly or fully emptied tube with the known device, the positioning screw must be unscrewed and the movable roller must by means of the hand wheels be pressed against the housing so that the tube can be passed with ease from between the gear teeth of the rollers. Because the known device requires a manual setting of the spacing between the two rollers to accommodate the different thicknesses of the tubes, the resulting construction, as mentioned above, is complicated, and exact positioning or selection of the spacing is almost impossible. Overall, the known device is relatively complicated in its use and in its construction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a collapsible tube dispensing device which does not possess the disadvantages of the hitherto known similar devices.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dispensing device of the type under discussion which is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.

lt is another object of the present invention toprovide a dispensing device as discussed above which simply accommodates various tube thicknesses without the use of special adjusting devices.

It is a further object of the present invention to pr vide a dispensing device for tubes in which the distance between the two rollers can easily be adjusted and the rollers be moved between a first working position adapted to squeeze a tube and a second spaced position for removing or inserting a tube by merely reversing the direction of rotation of that roller which is movably mounted in slots and is normally turned in a first direction for squeezing the tube.

According to the present invention, a device for squeezing paste out of a collapsible tube comprises a pair of elongated rollers having substantially parallel longitudinal axes. Support means supports one of said rollers about a fixed axis coinciding with its own axis and the other of said rollers for rotation about its own axis and displacement transversely to the same so that saidother roller may be moved from a working position in which said rollers are closely adjacent to each other for squeezing paste out of a tube inserted therebetween during rotation of said rollers relative to each other to a spaced position in which a filled tube may be placed therebetween. The support means is provided with at least one slot defined by upwardly extending edges one of which is provided along an upper portion thereof with gear teeth. Said other roller has at least one gear portion extending into said slot and adapted to mesh with the teeth at the upper portion of said one edge. Means are provided, whch are connected to said other roller, for rotating the same about its axis in first and second angular directions. With this arrangement, said gear portion is disengaged from said slot gear teeth while the other idler is in said working position and rotates in said first direction with a tube inserted between said rollers. Said gear portion becomes engaged with said slot gear teeth in response to rotation of said other roller in said second direction with said tube inserted between said rollers. Said other roller moves to said spaced position in response to further rotation of said other roller in said second direction subsequent to engagement between said slot gear teeth and said gear portions.

According to a presently preferred embodiment, said support means comprises a housing having two spaced lateral walls, each of said walls being formed with one slot defined by upwardly extending edges one of which is provided along an upper portion thereof with gear teeth, said other roller extending between said two lateral walls and having a gear portion at each end thereof extending into a respective slot. Each roller is provided with substantially parallel longitudinal gear teeth on the surface thereof, and said gear teeth of the rollers are adapted to engage in the working position of said other roller a tube placed therebetween.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a transverse cross section of a dispensing device in accordance with the present invention, taken on line 1-1 in FIG. 2, showing a tube in the device positioned to be squeezed;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross section of the dispensing device shown in FIG. 1, taken on line ll--II;

FIG. 3 is an end cross section of a second embodiment of the dispensing device shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the dispensing device shown in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a first embodiment of the present invention. The first embodiment comprises a substantially box-like housing 1 having a back wall 2, a front wall 3, a top or upper wall 4, two side walls 5 and 6 and an open bottom 7. The housing 1 is provided with an opening 8 in the upper extending part 9 of the back wall 2 for hanging the housing on a wall or the like by means of suitable fastening means, e.g., a screw or a nail. Two rollers 10, 11 are rotatably mounted in the side walls or lateral walls 5, 6. Each of the rollers is provided with teeth l2, 13 which, in accordance with the presently preferred embodiment, consist of substantially parallel axial gear teeth on each roller which, in the working position of the rollers, are adapted to squeeze a tube placed between the rollers as to be more fully described hereafter. The first roller is provided at the ends thereof with pins 14 (only one shown in FIG. 1) which are adapted to extend into bores in the side or lateral walls 5, 6. The roller 10 is rotatable about a fixed axis defined by the pins 14. The other or second roller 11 is similarly provided with axially extending pins l6, 17 which extend into slots 21 and 22 in the side or lateral walls. Each of the pins 16, 17 is provided with a gear wheel l8, 19, respectively, the gear wheels being rigidly connected to the pins 16, 17 and the latter being rigidly connected to the roller 10 so that the roller 10, the pins 16, 17 and the gear wheels l8, l9 rotate together. The gear wheels 18, 19 are arranged to engage gear teeth 20 provided in the longitudinal slots 21, 22, as is to be more fully described below.

In the position shown in FIG. 1, which is the working condition or engaged position, the teeth 12, 13 of the rollers 10, 11 are adapted to squeeze a tube placed therebetween. Each of the slots 21, 22 is defined by upwardly extending edges, one edge of each slot being provided along an upper portion thereof with gear teeth 20. The gear teeth are provided on one of the upwardly extending edges of each slot but do not extend sufficiently downwardly to engage the gear wheels 18, 19 when the roller 11 is in the working position as shown in FIG. 1. In this working position, the slot gear teeth of each of the slots 21, 22 are disengaged from the respective gear wheels 18, 19 and the roller 11 is merely rotatably mounted at the lower end of each of the slots. In this position, the roller 11 can be rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, by a hand wheel 23 (in the direction of arrow 26), without upward movement of the roller 11 in the direction towards the top of the slots 21, 22. In this position, which corresponds to the working or squeezing position, the tube 24 which is positioned between the rollers l0, 1] is squeezed in response to the rotation of the rollers relative to one another. The emptied tube portion 25 projects upwardly and finally abuts against a bent portion of the top or upper wall 4 which has a sloped part which deflects or bends the emptied portion of the tube 25 as shown in FIG. I. The pins l6, 17 of the gear wheels 18, 19, the roller 11 as well as the hand wheel 23 are rigidly fixed to one another and may 4 be built as a single unit. The housing 1, the rollers 10, 11, the gear wheels 18, 19 as well as the hand wheel 23 preferably, in accordance with the preferred embodiment, consist or are made of plastic so that the apparatus resists corrosion.

When the emptied tube 24 is to be withdrawn from the apparatus, the roller 11 is rotated counterclockwise, (against the direction of the arrow 26), the roller then briefly engaging the indentations or irregularities which are formed in the squeezed tube part 25 and the roller 11 is urged sufficiently in an upward direction so that the gear wheels l8, 19 come into engagement with the slot gear teeth 20. Upon continued counterclockwise rotation of the wheel 23, the roller 11 continues to move in an upward direction in response to the now meshed relationship between the gear wheels 18, 19 and the slot gear teeth 20. The further the roller 11 moves upwardly, the greater is the space between the rollers l0, 11 so that the tube 24 can be withdrawn in a downward direction from between the rollers without any difficulty. This important feature of the present invention can similarly be used for initially inserting a tube between the rollers. To do this, the hand wheel is grasped and manually slightly lifted a distance sufficient to bring the gear wheels l8, 19 into contact with the slot gear teeth 20. Once this is accomplished, the gear wheel 23 can be rotated in a counterclockwise direction, similarly as above, until the roller 11 is elevated to its uppermost position. At such time, a new tube can be inserted from below with at least a portion thereof positioned adjacent the roller 10. The hand wheel 23 can now be rotated in a clockwise direction and thus the roller 11 lowered to engage the tube. Further counterclockwise rotation of the hand wheel 23 causes the tube to be squeezed as the roller 10 rotates in a counterclockwise direction and the roller 11 rotates in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a second embodiment of the present invention which consists of a housing 1' having two openings 8 provided in a back wall 2 for hanging the housing on a wall. An upper wall of the housing 4 is substantially perpendicular to the rear wall 2' and has at its free end a curved front portion in the shape of a quadrant or quarter of a cylinder. Also, the housing has two side walls 5', 6 whose lower edges substantially extend from the bottom edges of the rear wall 2 and slope to the end edge of the front wall 3. Each of the side or lateral walls 5', 6 is provided with holes or openings 15 which are adapted to receive pins 14, as described in connection with the first embodiment, for pivotally supporting the roller 10. A roller 10, as in the first embodiment, is provided with gear teeth 12 which substantially extend across the entire distance between the inner surfaces of the side wall 5' and 6.

The side walls 5' and 6 are provided with longitudinal slots 21 and 22 each of which has gear teeth 20 at least in an upper portion of one upwardly extending edge, similarly to the gear teeth 20 in the first embodiment. A roller 11' is supported in the slots 21, 22 and is movable in the slots from a lower to upper position transverse to the direction of the axis of the roller 11 as in the first embodiment. The length of the roller 11 is substantially equal to the distance between the outer surfaces of the side walls 5', 6 of the housing 1. In this respect, the roller 11' is somewhat longer than the roller ll of the first embodiment. The teeth 13 provided on the roller 11 run over the entire length thereof so that the teeth 13 may engage with the slot gear teeth 20 in the slots 21 and 22 and can mesh with the same when the roller 11' is initially caused to slightly move upwardly in the slots, either manually or due to the counterclockwise rotation of the hand wheel 23 when a tube is inserted between the rollers. Accordingly, the teeth 13' of the roller 11' and the teeth 20 of the slots 21, 22 must be so selected so that they may engage with one another. With this second embodiment, the longitudinal slots 21, 22 are dimensioned to permit the withdrawal of the roller 11 from within the side walls 5', 6 by merely slidably removing the roller ll by sliding the same axially through one of the slots. ln the first embodiment, this is not possible because the width of the slot is smaller than the maximum radial dimension of the roller 11.

The second embodiment is further provided with a stop 27 in the upper wall 4'. The stop 27 is positioned above the region of the slots 21, 22 and is in the form of a resilient locking means which, in the present preferred embodiment, is configurated as an elongated projection which is substantially parallel to the axes of the rollers. The stop 27 extends substantially across the entire width of the upper wall 4'. The stop 27 is so dimensioned that it can snap into the space or gap between two adjacent teeth 13 of the roller 11. Thus, when the roller 11' is at the top or end of the upper portion of the slots, further rotation of the hand wheel 23 in a counterclockwise direction causes the teeth 13' to deform or deflect the stop 27 which subsequently snaps into an interteeth space and locks the roller 11' in the upper position shown. At this time, the hand wheel may be released and the roller ll remains in the upper position against the force of its own weight. An empty tube may at this time be withdrawn or a new tube may at this time be inserted between the rollers.

A further feature of the present invention comprises the provision of a second stop 28 which serves as a deflection means for a portion of a squeezed-out tube which is urged into an upward and rearward position. The stop 28 is similarly in the form of a projection which extends substantially across the entire width of the upper wall 4. The provision of the stop 28 prevents the end of the squeezed out portion of the tube from going into the corner formed by the rear wall 2' and the upper wall 4' this possibly causing at least a temporary increase in force which must be applied to the hand wheel 23. The provision of the stop 28 prevents any jamming conditions where greater forces must be applied to the hand wheel 23. Advantageously, in accordance with the second embodiment, the roller as well as the roller 11 with the hand wheel 23 are made from plastic.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of dispensing devices differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a tube squeezing and dispensing device, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown. since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can be applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. A device for squeezing paste out of a collapsible tube comprising a pair of elongated rollers having sub stantially parallel longitudinal axes; support means supporting one of said rollers about a fixed axis coinciding with its own axis and the other of said rollers for rotation about its own axis and movement in a direction transverse to its axis so that said other roller may be moved from a working position in which said rollers are closely adjacent to each other for squeezing paste out of a tube inserted therebetween during rotation of said rollers relative to each other and a spaced position in which a filled tube may be placed therebetween, said support means being provided with at least one slot de fined by a closed end and two edges extending downwardly from said closed end, one of said edges being provided along an upper portion thereof with gear teeth, said other roller having at least one gear portion extending into said slot adapted to mesh with the teeth at the upper portion of said one edge actuating means connected to said other roller for rotating it about its axis in first and second angular directions, whereby said gear portion is disengaged from said slot gear teeth in said working position in response to rotation of said other roller in said first direction with the tube inserted between said rollers, and said gear portion becoming engaged with said slot gear teeth in response to rotation of said other roller in said second direction with said tube inserted between said rollers, said other roller moving to said spaced portion in response to further rotation of said other roller in said second direction subsequent to engagement between said slot gear teeth and said gear portion; and resilient locking means at said closed end for engaging said gear portion when the latter is moved to said closed end of said spaced portion, whereby said other roller becomes locked at said end when said other roller is rotated in said second direction subsequent to deformation of said locking means, and said other roller becomes released from said locking means when said other roller is rotated in said first direction subsequent to deformation of said locking means.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said second roller has a portion extending beyond said support means, and wherein said actuating means comprises a handwheel connected to said extending portion.

3. A device as defined in claim ll, wherein each roller is provided with gear teeth extending substantially along the entire length thereof,

4. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said second roller is provided with substantially parallel gear teeth substantially along the entire length thereof, said gear portion being formed by said gear teeth of said second roller.

5. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said housing comprises an upper wall substantially parallel to said rollers and positioned above said rollers, said upper wall being provided with elongated deflecting means substantially parallel to said rollers and projecting downwardly from said upper wall for deflecting the 7 8 squeezed tube in a downward direction on continued 7. A device as defined in claim 6, wherein said secsqueezing of the tube. ond roller has a length substantially equal to the dis- 6. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said suptance between said lateral walls and has an axially proport means comprisesa housing having two spaced latjecting portion which extends through and beyond one eral walls; and wherein said slot is provided in one of of said slots, and wherein said actuating means comsaid walls; and comprising an additional slot provided prises a handwheel mounted on said projecting portion. in the other wall and similar to said slot and an additional gear portion integral with said second roller and 8. A device as defined in claim 6, wherein said secadapted to mesh with the gear teeth of said additional ond roller is dimensioned so as to be removable from slot when said gear portion meshes with said gear teeth 10 between said lateral walls by axially sliding the same of said slot so as to displace said second roller in axial through one of said slots parallelism with said first roller. 

1. A device for squeezing paste out of a collapsible tube comprising a pair of elongated rollers having substantially parallel longitudinal axes; support means supporting one of said rollers about a fixed axis coinciding with its own axis and the other of said rollers for rotation about its own axis and movement in a direction transverse to its axis so that said other roller may be moved from a working position in which said rollers are closely adjacent to each other for squeezing paste out of a tube inserted therebetween during rotation of said rollers relative to each other and a spaced position in which a filled tube may be placed thereBetween, said support means being provided with at least one slot defined by a closed end and two edges extending downwardly from said closed end, one of said edges being provided along an upper portion thereof with gear teeth, said other roller having at least one gear portion extending into said slot adapted to mesh with the teeth at the upper portion of said one edge actuating means connected to said other roller for rotating it about its axis in first and second angular directions, whereby said gear portion is disengaged from said slot gear teeth in said working position in response to rotation of said other roller in said first direction with the tube inserted between said rollers, and said gear portion becoming engaged with said slot gear teeth in response to rotation of said other roller in said second direction with said tube inserted between said rollers, said other roller moving to said spaced portion in response to further rotation of said other roller in said second direction subsequent to engagement between said slot gear teeth and said gear portion; and resilient locking means at said closed end for engaging said gear portion when the latter is moved to said closed end of said spaced portion, whereby said other roller becomes locked at said end when said other roller is rotated in said second direction subsequent to deformation of said locking means, and said other roller becomes released from said locking means when said other roller is rotated in said first direction subsequent to deformation of said locking means.
 2. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said second roller has a portion extending beyond said support means, and wherein said actuating means comprises a handwheel connected to said extending portion.
 3. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein each roller is provided with gear teeth extending substantially along the entire length thereof.
 4. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said second roller is provided with substantially parallel gear teeth substantially along the entire length thereof, said gear portion being formed by said gear teeth of said second roller.
 5. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said housing comprises an upper wall substantially parallel to said rollers and positioned above said rollers, said upper wall being provided with elongated deflecting means substantially parallel to said rollers and projecting downwardly from said upper wall for deflecting the squeezed tube in a downward direction on continued squeezing of the tube.
 6. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said support means comprises a housing having two spaced lateral walls; and wherein said slot is provided in one of said walls; and comprising an additional slot provided in the other wall and similar to said slot and an additional gear portion integral with said second roller and adapted to mesh with the gear teeth of said additional slot when said gear portion meshes with said gear teeth of said slot so as to displace said second roller in axial parallelism with said first roller.
 7. A device as defined in claim 6, wherein said second roller has a length substantially equal to the distance between said lateral walls and has an axially projecting portion which extends through and beyond one of said slots, and wherein said actuating means comprises a handwheel mounted on said projecting portion.
 8. A device as defined in claim 6, wherein said second roller is dimensioned so as to be removable from between said lateral walls by axially sliding the same through one of said slots. 